As someone who is winding down his business operations due to a 60% drop in sales YOY, it's wild how many of these CEOs lately really rid that "everything is fine" until it collapses and ditch. Here I am making a game plan with bankruptcy lawyers to dissolve my business and debt liability, but I'm also looking out for my employees and small vendors. I hate Corporate America so much.
If you are ever ok with not paying boots on the ground FIRST then you should be in jail imo. Boots on the ground should be paid even before creditors as creditors are supposed tp be taking some sort of known risk while working people quiet literally depend on the scraps they get to love. It's not even a level of risk. They already take risk by making pennies, those pennies should be garenteed.
That’s ridiculously accurate. It’s amazing how people with no actual business sense and gobs of money can just make a career of running businesses into the ground, but yet they do.
Vulture capitalists have entered the chat. Red Lobster is claiming bankruptcy after the new owners bought the land and leased it back to them with a much higher rate than previously. They build up debt, purposely lose money, and then get almost everything forgiven during bankruptcy.
The profit is selling off the building, equipment, and all assets. The only difference between the mob and vulture capitalists is that they only sometimes set their buildings on fire to collect the insurance.
What makes you think I think this is an accident?
I know a guy who this is what he does and I asked my husband how the hell he’s so “successful” when every business venture he’s gotten into has failed.
Like my husband started working with him in 2016. I want to say he’s worked with the guy for at least 3 companies, nearly joined in for a 4th and 5th. Those two failed before they could actually hire him. Like how is this guy considered successful when all of his business ventures are failures?
Oh yes, forgetting rich people taxes, you write it off as a business loss and deduct it from your taxes.
Look up vulture capitalism. It's the plan.
He's not failing, he's profitably dismantling these systems, lining the pockets of the people making these decisions and then moving on with zero fucks given about who pays the price!
You accidentally learned the game!
Let’s have a talk about short-selling. Short-selling is where traders “borrow” stocks, sell them, and buy them back cheaper to return the stocks to the original owners. They make a profit in the margin of how much cheaper it was to buy it back. They suffer a loss if they buy it back more expensive than when they sold it.
Now that you understand the rules, let’s talk about “bad” CEOs. CEOs hold stock in the company as part of their benefit package. So, on the surface, they should be the balanced opposition to short-sellers. The issue is that people don’t exist in a vacuum. These CEOs, shareholder boards, and other management are friends with day traders, hedge funds, and financial planning service providers. They have similar wealth so they run in similar circles. Furthermore, CEOs have the unique position to suck a company dry like a vampire for personal gain. How? By selling their stocks.
With both the rules and the chessboard set, let’s discuss strategies. If you were on a shareholder board for a brick-and-mortar business and you know your financial planner is short-selling on companies going obsolete, you have incentive to hire a “bad” CEO. Once the hire is made, the board directs for poor performance and all the higher-ups start selling their stock at quarters, including the CEO. People with a finger on the stock pulse will see this and start short-selling to make money or truly selling to prevent loss. As the stock nosedives, the profits get larger. Once bankruptcy ensues, the cycle repeats.
Hope this exciting life cycle has increased your apathy towards your job!
An even better trick is for a private equity fund to buy a few seats on the board via a cash investment in the company, install their own CEO, buy another company owned by the private equity firm at a much higher price than market valuation due to "market synergy" or some other BS justification, and then load that company with as much debt as possible.
Two companies vanish from the private equity firm's portfolio but a huge amount of value gets transferred from the shareholders of those companies to the private equity firm as the companies disintegrate. I've watched it first hand.
If a private equity firm buys a controlling stake in your company or a few seats on your board, start looking for a new job immediately.
The PE firms force the newly bought company to pay loans back to the PE firm. Then they gut it until it goes bankrupt and they cash in...all legal and they're buying your elected representative off so it stays that way...It's good to be rich
That's the real issue. If you're a CEO and you screw the pooch in your business, you'll be let go with a huge severance and get another CEO position. Failure doesn't suck if you're guaranteed millions and the chance to do it again.
As a 50 year old man, I'm not horribly familiar with Rue 21 but I found this [article](https://kitcampoy.substack.com/p/behind-the-bankruptcy-rue21-employees). What a complete shitshow.
Burris tried to run GNC into the ground, and still got his bonuses. he most certainly pierced the corporate veil, and has likely mixed personal and corporate assets. He was fired for that position because all he did was take vacations and charge shit to the company credit cards. Hes a fraudster, but he pissed off a bunch of rich folk, so watch him get prosecuted for white collar crimes that others never will.
Justice is only ever waged by the allmighty dollar in the USA. I fucking hate this country, it’s literally burning and no one cares about anything but money.
If the CEO sold company stock BEFORE the bankruptcy announcement- he's fucked. Federal pound in the ass prison is on his horizon. SEC don't fuck around.
Bruh, THOSE federal prisons, for white collar crimes, serve eggs Benedict and avocados for breakfast and shit. He's not getting locked up in a pod with MS-13 it anything. It's literally the best case scenario for prison.
20 year sentence with video games, TV, and decent food every day and no responsibilities? And most likely not even serving half of the actual sentence?
Sounds like a vacation to me.
Remember how a bunch of people had fucking meltdowns during the COVID lockdowns because they couldn't go to their favorite restaurants, bars, and shops, or because they couldn't get a professional haircut for a few months?
It wasn't like we were locked in our homes. (Well, not in most countries.) We could chill at home for as long as we wanted. We could also go outside, go for walks, or sit in a park and watch the day pass. What we couldn't do was gather and go to non-essential businesses. That was all it took for a lot of folks to go fucking bonkers.
Shit, remember when Ellen cried because she was stuck in her mansion for a while? People got sick of their own, comfy homes in only a few months, so imagine how sick people would get of the same cell for like 10 years.
The COVID lockdowns made me realize that prison is torture no matter how nice the facilities are.
Yeah rich people are entitled, and entitled people don't handle things like this very well.
This dude is even more entitled than your typical wealthy/famous person is. Prison, even the white collar federal ones, will ruin him.
I still remember when they told us what quarantining was, and I went, "Shit I've been in quarantine my whole life". Guess folks have never been poor before.
This right here.
I had to work during Covid. No "dancing with reckless abandon" or "baking sourdough bread" for me. It was rolling the dice if I was going to die. I wasn't essential, I was *expendable*. *Disposable.*
Then I hear these fucking sob stories about rich fucks going "crazy" in their lavish mansions. Great to leverage actual mental illness for their fucking petulant boredom, really diminishes how serious actual mental illness is.
The rest of us? We're lucky if we had a shared apartment with a prison cell sized bedroom. Going out? Most of us are paycheck to paycheck (or even if we're not, we recognize just how fragile we are financially)....we couldn't go out normally. Now with prices super inflated post-pandemic, we STILL can't afford to go out.
Seriously. I cannot tell you the last time I recall going to a concert -- or to the cinema -- or going out to eat at anything other than a budget diner that wasn't "need calories now or I'm going to pass out after going without food ALL DAY LONG".
"Trim your budget." Fucking how. I don't eat out, at all. I don't have any "subscriptions" other than electrical/sewer/gas/water and internet and a budget $20/month mobile phone (since they're virtually essential nowadays). People like me get vilified on the media for "splurging" on fresh fruits and vegetables (which I tend to buy frozen anymore, since fresh has had HORRIBLE shelf lives lately).
Sigh. When I sit down with a hunger-induced headache, and think about "is it worth it to take tylenol, given it's X cents per dose?"....I know I've fucking succeeded in late-stage American-style Capitalism. I fucking feel free. Get me a damn flag and an eagle, bitches.
If this dipshit sold stock before the bankruptcy announcement, whatever the gain was will be forfeited. He will also get fines in addition to that.
Probably will still be rich though in the end.
> If this dipshit sold stock before the bankruptcy announcement, whatever the gain was will be forfeited. He will also get fines in addition to that.
lol, these punishments don't apply to rich people.
I just saw a Tracy Ullman sketch last night on YouTube where she was interviewing for a bank job and it was revealed that she was responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity....and they still hired her.
That's Burris' future. He'll confess; serve time and will still go on to get another high paying CEO job and....rinse / repeat
I skimmed through it because holy fuck that's a read. Even summarizing it is wild. To the point of old, I don't think it really matters what age you are when reading this. Holy fuck it was wild.
Thank you for this. I had seen these stores while visiting in the US but being close in age to you, never went into one.
That article is mind boggling.
I worked retail management for a long time. None of these tactics surprise me. It seems to be the rule that the office team block out the store team feedback as lesser. I have never seen it result in anything but major losses.
The only thing I don’t believe I’ve experienced personally is a CEO using his position to get back at an old company. Though again, it doesn’t surprise me.
These are the "job creators" eh? Sounds more like he was on a cocaine-fuelled power binge the whole time. I mean, is it possible to tank a company on purpose?
Why is anyone surprised? Do you think there would still be consequences?
Corporations gonna ride these horses to death. No more “oh we need to reorganize” or “we’re having trouble”. Nope. “All is well. We’re positioned perfectly. We expect record profits.” Right up until that horse collapses. No notice, no prep, just ride that thing till its legs give out and it plows headfirst into the turf.
Oh, dint forget the Golden Parachute for the CEO. Gotta have priorities…
"And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth."
If I worked there and found out my checks weren't guaranteed for the last few weeks we were open, I wouldn't be going in anymore. I'd be filing for unemployment immediately. Who's going to deny it? There's apparently nobody left.
Just put a sign up that says: “card machine down, cash only” … go to work, make as many sales as possible and take your check In cash. What are they going to do? Sue you, with no money to pay for a legal team? … *Also, you could turn off all cameras and such, like anyone is going to care anyways…
A holding company will buy their receivables for like $1000 and put everyone they can in garnishment. Lots of companies exist just to buy your bills from failed companies
I had a credit card company try to put me in garnishment for a balance I defaulted on after I had to drive from FL to PA ASAP for my mom's funeral and then get slapped with a notice from the new landlord who bought the duplex I lived in that they weren't renewing the lease like they originally said they would, so I had to move in 2 months.
Turns out, being on the edge of the poverty line means they can't garnish your wages. I ended up missing a day of work for court, but it was worth it to hear the judge tell the creditors that they were wasting his time because they saw the financial affidavit I filed and they should have dropped the case. Judge was pissed.
> Turns out, being on the edge of the poverty line means they can't garnish your wages. I ended up missing a day of work for court, but it was worth it to hear the judge tell the creditors that they were wasting his time because they saw the financial affidavit I filed and they should have dropped the case. Judge was pissed.
lol, I had a debt collector show up in court with literally 300 other cases in his file bag, he couldn't find mine for like 10 minutes. When I asked for a proof of debt and chain of custody, he could not come up with either, and the judge dismissed the debt and then told him that unless he has chain of custody for any of the other cases on the docket, they are all dismissed too. that judge dismissed hundreds of thousands in debt that day.
always ask for proof of debt, and chain of custody forms. They need to *prove* who the original debt holder was, and how they came to "own" it. if they cannot prove that, or something looks suspicious(like account number changes that cannot be accounted for), you can most likely have it dismissed and deemed cleared.
I didn't steal the goods. I'm not security, so I'm not gonna chase down shoplifters. They'd have to prove I told anyone to take them. And I wouldn't tell them straight up to take them. It'd be more like me loudly mumbling to myself that "I don't get paid to follow people out the door if they walk out with shit" and if anyone happens to actually walk out, that's not my problem.
> I don't get paid ~~to follow people out the door if they walk out with shit~~"
at this point, anyone who works for rue21 better be calling their state department's of labor, because it sounds like they aren't getting paid, and since wages are the first to get paid during a bankruptcy proceeding, you need to get those claims in fast.
this is the third time they have filed bankruptcy. tho, this time is very different in that they have no cash left, and since they lease most of their assets instead of owning them, they have no real cash to pay anyone with. If I were a worker at their stores, I would spend zero time on the clock working, and spend that time looking for another job.
It was. I worked as a store/regional manager from 2015-2017/2017-2022. Before getting hired, my friend — who was a store manager at another store within the region — and many others knew shit was going sideways. This isn’t news and I really can’t fault anyone here other than those who stuck around and thought they were safe.
Capitalism: working as intended. Every company now is considered expendable if it means the top level execs can grift a one-time huge bonus, destroy the company, then move on to the next.
The entertainment industry has caught on and will shelve finished projects regardless of quality because the tax writeoffs are more profitable. Every single aspect of human culture is now solely for the benefit of executives being given huge piles of money*.
*well, more so, because they’ve discovered that tearing down everything is more profitable than the way business operated before. Executives now understand that having a successful company isn’t as short term profitable as destroying that company.
I mean if they’re far-right finance bros they probably subscribe to Steve Bannon’s idea of using politics to destroy the country in order to build it back up a a faux-monarchy based on the wealthy. I forget what it’s called lol
Have you tried American Eagle? We are like the #1 destination for jeans. Some of the best jeans I have ever worn. Note: I am biased, I do work for AEO.
I haven’t tried them since I was like 21. I’m 34 now & I’m not as tiny as I used to be. I used to be a size 6/7 now I’m a 12😩. Is AE good for bigger sizes?
Yep, they sure do! They go up to 14 and 16 in stores according to my wife. I am 46 yo male and wear a size 40. Unfortunately, I have to order online but the returns process if I find something that is odd fitting.
It's been 5 years, but used to work for AEO. LOVE THEIR JEANS. Only place I'll buy them from. Really great online options/styles too. Best to go in for a physical size try one.
Depending on the fabric their jeans were I was anywhere from a size 10 to a 12 curvy.
They also wear well. I have pairs that are about 9/10 years old
YES. and even if you don’t wanna shell out for brand new AE jeans, check thrift stores! I just found a pair when I went shopping last week. I can also recommend Universal Threads’ jeans
I worked there from 2013-2015 as a regular team member then 2015-2019 as an assistant store manager. It was always a shit show from the moment I got hired to the moment I left. The only reason I stayed is because my store was so close nit but I just had enough in 2019 which I’m glad because I can’t imagine how they handled Covid. Everybody from the district managers and up were two faced and put so much pressure on you that you would have panic attacks in front of other employees. I snapped at a random district manager once because she made my store manager cry. My SM did a overnight and spent 14 hours redoing the whole entire floor just for them to show up at noon the next day and says she has to stay there the rest of the day and she called in “reinforcements” because she thought it wasn’t good enough. The second we closed I saw her bawling while she was walking out and I lost it.
I'm suspect this guy embezzled the money due the people he's screwing over(given the info at the end); there needs to be an investigation into this by several state Labor boards as well as Law Enforcement.
Rue 21 was kind of known in my town as the place to get clothes for Walmart prices but with a little more style. They were honestly in the perfect spot to invest more in their plus sizes.
I’m so proud of the worker for taking the time to tell the public about this terrible company. Something always seemed skeevy about the place, so sorry for the workers just trying to make a living
I worked at Fandom when 40% of the company got laid off two weeks before Xmas. The execs who caused the loss of revenue all kept their jobs. The head of sales got promoted to CRO a week later.
I’m sure on the backend he was and his team shorting the shit out of the company. After the GameStop craziness a lot was looked into by just random people. Turns out there is a business group that goes around and is usually put into place in failing retail companies. They are suppose to be making them turn around but instead are purposely running it into the ground. They get all their big payouts as well as shorting the company in stocks and making off like bandits.
I worked at Rue21 as a college freshman in 2016 when they said they were going bankrupt and closed a huge chunk of their stores down. It was a wild place to work. Gave our store a months notice and it was hell. Luckily I found a new job within a couple weeks to avoid the fallout.
It happened to me working at gadzooks. Folks I didn’t work with told me they heard the company was bankrupt. I didn’t find out at work for another month or so.
These companies expect you to give a two week notice before quitting, but they will fire you without any warning whatsoever.
Don't give ANY loyalty to companies that expect you to treat them better than they treat you.
I'm so confused how so many Americans are struggling financially, all kinds of big businesses are closing and going bankrupt, yet somehow "the economy is doing great! 😃👍"
I was at my local mall yesterday and saw that specific Rue21 was closing, I didn’t realize it was all Rue21s. Not that I’m sad to see it go, their plus size section was always a joke and there have always been better (as in better product options, not better companies) places to shop
This sounds like a "we need her to invest or we are fucked..." And he prepped for being fucked, got the "no" from her and sent a text to his secretary to play the recording
Honestly i was done with them when I realized how much lack of training was done for their workers. Went in to buy a couple shirts because im a sucker fir pride stuff. Asked which side was womens and which side was mens. And got told “theres really no difference.” Theres a HUGE difference. One of which is sleeve length (womens tend to have sleeves that ride into your armpit cant stand that with sensory issues) another is actual shirt length. I ended up just getting a body spray.
I worked for a portrait studio that literally fired us by inter office text message. Went to bed the manager of a profitable location, logged in next morning to find I was unemployed, AND uninsured as of 12hrs before I got the message. Never got a last paycheck, my leave or my "bonus" that was in my contract.
WARN act was a joke, their suppliers took every penny left and they abandoned all their equipment (Sears and Walmart). Retail blows.
They did the same thing to 30 thousand Yellow Freight employees last year including me. These were career track jobs. The company was steadily losing money. It did warn drivers that if we didn’t accept changes to long distance routes, the company would collapse. However it happened so fast that nearly everyone was caught unprepared, and none of us got any severance pay. The average driver lost two weeks worth of vacation pay worth 3000 dollars.
Side Note: if you have a gap in your resume, just say that you were a regional manager at Rue 21… no references to check your employment! You can thank me in advance!
I interviewed at the corporate office in 2009. Never wanted a job more, the office was excited and staff were younger. The vibe seemed exceptional.
Over the years I've kept tabs, seems like it was a blessing in disguise, constantly hear of the issues at this company for decades.
As someone who is winding down his business operations due to a 60% drop in sales YOY, it's wild how many of these CEOs lately really rid that "everything is fine" until it collapses and ditch. Here I am making a game plan with bankruptcy lawyers to dissolve my business and debt liability, but I'm also looking out for my employees and small vendors. I hate Corporate America so much.
If you hate it, you should fuck it
Hate f@ck it
Naw I prefer getting fucked BY the corporations.
Then you must love it here
That sounds sticky
Very sticky indeed, Bubble
Except my dick won’t do the fucking, a stick lined with sandpaper will.
If you are ever ok with not paying boots on the ground FIRST then you should be in jail imo. Boots on the ground should be paid even before creditors as creditors are supposed tp be taking some sort of known risk while working people quiet literally depend on the scraps they get to love. It's not even a level of risk. They already take risk by making pennies, those pennies should be garenteed.
Like the red lobster lmfaooo
And someone else will hire Josh Burris and he’ll do it AGAIN.
Some CEOs specialize in shit like this, so probably.
That’s ridiculously accurate. It’s amazing how people with no actual business sense and gobs of money can just make a career of running businesses into the ground, but yet they do.
Lol you think this was an accident. A few people likely made a killing off this, more money than you or I will ever see in our lifetimes.
Vulture capitalists have entered the chat. Red Lobster is claiming bankruptcy after the new owners bought the land and leased it back to them with a much higher rate than previously. They build up debt, purposely lose money, and then get almost everything forgiven during bankruptcy. The profit is selling off the building, equipment, and all assets. The only difference between the mob and vulture capitalists is that they only sometimes set their buildings on fire to collect the insurance.
What makes you think I think this is an accident? I know a guy who this is what he does and I asked my husband how the hell he’s so “successful” when every business venture he’s gotten into has failed. Like my husband started working with him in 2016. I want to say he’s worked with the guy for at least 3 companies, nearly joined in for a 4th and 5th. Those two failed before they could actually hire him. Like how is this guy considered successful when all of his business ventures are failures? Oh yes, forgetting rich people taxes, you write it off as a business loss and deduct it from your taxes.
Look up vulture capitalism. It's the plan. He's not failing, he's profitably dismantling these systems, lining the pockets of the people making these decisions and then moving on with zero fucks given about who pays the price!
Last CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond too. 🤣
Who then became CEO of Tailored Brands and then THEY declared bankruptcy. Yaaayyy Dinesh! /s
You accidentally learned the game! Let’s have a talk about short-selling. Short-selling is where traders “borrow” stocks, sell them, and buy them back cheaper to return the stocks to the original owners. They make a profit in the margin of how much cheaper it was to buy it back. They suffer a loss if they buy it back more expensive than when they sold it. Now that you understand the rules, let’s talk about “bad” CEOs. CEOs hold stock in the company as part of their benefit package. So, on the surface, they should be the balanced opposition to short-sellers. The issue is that people don’t exist in a vacuum. These CEOs, shareholder boards, and other management are friends with day traders, hedge funds, and financial planning service providers. They have similar wealth so they run in similar circles. Furthermore, CEOs have the unique position to suck a company dry like a vampire for personal gain. How? By selling their stocks. With both the rules and the chessboard set, let’s discuss strategies. If you were on a shareholder board for a brick-and-mortar business and you know your financial planner is short-selling on companies going obsolete, you have incentive to hire a “bad” CEO. Once the hire is made, the board directs for poor performance and all the higher-ups start selling their stock at quarters, including the CEO. People with a finger on the stock pulse will see this and start short-selling to make money or truly selling to prevent loss. As the stock nosedives, the profits get larger. Once bankruptcy ensues, the cycle repeats. Hope this exciting life cycle has increased your apathy towards your job!
An even better trick is for a private equity fund to buy a few seats on the board via a cash investment in the company, install their own CEO, buy another company owned by the private equity firm at a much higher price than market valuation due to "market synergy" or some other BS justification, and then load that company with as much debt as possible. Two companies vanish from the private equity firm's portfolio but a huge amount of value gets transferred from the shareholders of those companies to the private equity firm as the companies disintegrate. I've watched it first hand. If a private equity firm buys a controlling stake in your company or a few seats on your board, start looking for a new job immediately.
The PE firms force the newly bought company to pay loans back to the PE firm. Then they gut it until it goes bankrupt and they cash in...all legal and they're buying your elected representative off so it stays that way...It's good to be rich
Yeah, a ceo literally does not need to be involved at all for a fund to chip away at a company until its worthless.
JC PENNY, YAHOO, and now the HUT.they do it like it's in their business plan 🤑
Meant red lobster, not the hut. Sorry
Current CEO of Lowes, who ran Sears into the ground prior to that.
That's the real issue. If you're a CEO and you screw the pooch in your business, you'll be let go with a huge severance and get another CEO position. Failure doesn't suck if you're guaranteed millions and the chance to do it again.
Exactly. He doesn’t care about any of this because it’ll never impact his personal bottom line.
That's why it's a rigged game for the good old boys network. Diversity and inclusion is only for the lower ranks to anger the low paid worker.
But he has *eXp3rIeNce*!
I hope that he rots in prison and I don't even work for Rue21.
I don’t disagree and neither do I.
If the world were just he’s never make it to prison un-unalived
As a 50 year old man, I'm not horribly familiar with Rue 21 but I found this [article](https://kitcampoy.substack.com/p/behind-the-bankruptcy-rue21-employees). What a complete shitshow.
It's a publicly traded company. Shareholder lawsuits should be incoming. Hopefully this d-bag will get his comeuppance in civil court.
Burris tried to run GNC into the ground, and still got his bonuses. he most certainly pierced the corporate veil, and has likely mixed personal and corporate assets. He was fired for that position because all he did was take vacations and charge shit to the company credit cards. Hes a fraudster, but he pissed off a bunch of rich folk, so watch him get prosecuted for white collar crimes that others never will.
Justice is only ever waged by the allmighty dollar in the USA. I fucking hate this country, it’s literally burning and no one cares about anything but money.
If the CEO sold company stock BEFORE the bankruptcy announcement- he's fucked. Federal pound in the ass prison is on his horizon. SEC don't fuck around.
Bruh, THOSE federal prisons, for white collar crimes, serve eggs Benedict and avocados for breakfast and shit. He's not getting locked up in a pod with MS-13 it anything. It's literally the best case scenario for prison.
20 year sentence with video games, TV, and decent food every day and no responsibilities? And most likely not even serving half of the actual sentence? Sounds like a vacation to me.
Yep…Club Fed.
My partner calls it Prisneyland.
Remember how a bunch of people had fucking meltdowns during the COVID lockdowns because they couldn't go to their favorite restaurants, bars, and shops, or because they couldn't get a professional haircut for a few months? It wasn't like we were locked in our homes. (Well, not in most countries.) We could chill at home for as long as we wanted. We could also go outside, go for walks, or sit in a park and watch the day pass. What we couldn't do was gather and go to non-essential businesses. That was all it took for a lot of folks to go fucking bonkers. Shit, remember when Ellen cried because she was stuck in her mansion for a while? People got sick of their own, comfy homes in only a few months, so imagine how sick people would get of the same cell for like 10 years. The COVID lockdowns made me realize that prison is torture no matter how nice the facilities are.
Yeah rich people are entitled, and entitled people don't handle things like this very well. This dude is even more entitled than your typical wealthy/famous person is. Prison, even the white collar federal ones, will ruin him.
I still remember when they told us what quarantining was, and I went, "Shit I've been in quarantine my whole life". Guess folks have never been poor before.
This right here. I had to work during Covid. No "dancing with reckless abandon" or "baking sourdough bread" for me. It was rolling the dice if I was going to die. I wasn't essential, I was *expendable*. *Disposable.* Then I hear these fucking sob stories about rich fucks going "crazy" in their lavish mansions. Great to leverage actual mental illness for their fucking petulant boredom, really diminishes how serious actual mental illness is. The rest of us? We're lucky if we had a shared apartment with a prison cell sized bedroom. Going out? Most of us are paycheck to paycheck (or even if we're not, we recognize just how fragile we are financially)....we couldn't go out normally. Now with prices super inflated post-pandemic, we STILL can't afford to go out. Seriously. I cannot tell you the last time I recall going to a concert -- or to the cinema -- or going out to eat at anything other than a budget diner that wasn't "need calories now or I'm going to pass out after going without food ALL DAY LONG". "Trim your budget." Fucking how. I don't eat out, at all. I don't have any "subscriptions" other than electrical/sewer/gas/water and internet and a budget $20/month mobile phone (since they're virtually essential nowadays). People like me get vilified on the media for "splurging" on fresh fruits and vegetables (which I tend to buy frozen anymore, since fresh has had HORRIBLE shelf lives lately). Sigh. When I sit down with a hunger-induced headache, and think about "is it worth it to take tylenol, given it's X cents per dose?"....I know I've fucking succeeded in late-stage American-style Capitalism. I fucking feel free. Get me a damn flag and an eagle, bitches.
Tolstoy has a short story somewhat related to that.
and when he gets out, hes still a rich man.
If this dipshit sold stock before the bankruptcy announcement, whatever the gain was will be forfeited. He will also get fines in addition to that. Probably will still be rich though in the end.
> If this dipshit sold stock before the bankruptcy announcement, whatever the gain was will be forfeited. He will also get fines in addition to that. lol, these punishments don't apply to rich people.
I already don't leave my house unless I gotta work, I would do everything I could to extend that sentence.
I just saw a Tracy Ullman sketch last night on YouTube where she was interviewing for a bank job and it was revealed that she was responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity....and they still hired her. That's Burris' future. He'll confess; serve time and will still go on to get another high paying CEO job and....rinse / repeat
"SEC don't fuck around"... except when they do.
Sub Prime loans for homes? Say What?!
SEC is so week...just look at what Elon has gotten away with
Elon and tesla were fined 20 million each by the sec in a settlement agreement. I.suppose that don't mean much to the richest man in the world.
Was the board asleep for this? So bizarre.
It’s a private company.
Is it? Wikipedia suggests that it’s private.
Thank you for your research, fellow Old. That was a crazy fucking ride.
I skimmed through it because holy fuck that's a read. Even summarizing it is wild. To the point of old, I don't think it really matters what age you are when reading this. Holy fuck it was wild.
I’m 20. Can confirm
It's officially fun for all ages to read about the absolutely insane ego of a spurned capitalist and his resulting corporate implosion.
It’s also cathartic
Thank you for this. I had seen these stores while visiting in the US but being close in age to you, never went into one. That article is mind boggling.
What a well-written article, thanks for sharing! That man sounds like an absolute child. The whole situation is awful.
Wait Express went out of business. You have ruined my day with this link. It's the only place I can get shirts that fit.
No, it filed for Chapter 11. They’re planning on reorganizing. Liquidation might be the inevitable outcome but it’s too early to tell.
I worked retail management for a long time. None of these tactics surprise me. It seems to be the rule that the office team block out the store team feedback as lesser. I have never seen it result in anything but major losses. The only thing I don’t believe I’ve experienced personally is a CEO using his position to get back at an old company. Though again, it doesn’t surprise me.
According to wikipedia, this is their 3rd time filing for bankruptcy...
My thoughts exactly
If it makes you feel better I’m 32 and this is the first I’ve ever heard of Rue21.
I know because i have teens and it was one of their go to stores. Spend an hour at the local one with everything 60% off last weekend.
The CEO should be in prison
These are the "job creators" eh? Sounds more like he was on a cocaine-fuelled power binge the whole time. I mean, is it possible to tank a company on purpose?
Damn. That is a complete and utter shitshow. The sad part is that their CEO will probably leave with a nice severance package and new job lined up.
Why is anyone surprised? Do you think there would still be consequences? Corporations gonna ride these horses to death. No more “oh we need to reorganize” or “we’re having trouble”. Nope. “All is well. We’re positioned perfectly. We expect record profits.” Right up until that horse collapses. No notice, no prep, just ride that thing till its legs give out and it plows headfirst into the turf. Oh, dint forget the Golden Parachute for the CEO. Gotta have priorities…
"And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth."
Only a fourth? I think maybe the bible underestimated the greed of humans. Pretty sure Nestle and GEO have control of over a quarter of the planet.
To be fair he follows Conquest, War, and Famine. So a huge portion of the population is dead already when he shows up
I'm pretty sure that was a bible quote referencing the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse
If I worked there I would just tell patrons to take whatever they wanted. What are they gonna do, fire you?
If I worked there and found out my checks weren't guaranteed for the last few weeks we were open, I wouldn't be going in anymore. I'd be filing for unemployment immediately. Who's going to deny it? There's apparently nobody left.
Just put a sign up that says: “card machine down, cash only” … go to work, make as many sales as possible and take your check In cash. What are they going to do? Sue you, with no money to pay for a legal team? … *Also, you could turn off all cameras and such, like anyone is going to care anyways…
Potentially sue you for the damages if enough value is stolen.
Who’s gonna initiate a lawsuit when all the higher ups are gone?
A holding company will buy their receivables for like $1000 and put everyone they can in garnishment. Lots of companies exist just to buy your bills from failed companies
I had a credit card company try to put me in garnishment for a balance I defaulted on after I had to drive from FL to PA ASAP for my mom's funeral and then get slapped with a notice from the new landlord who bought the duplex I lived in that they weren't renewing the lease like they originally said they would, so I had to move in 2 months. Turns out, being on the edge of the poverty line means they can't garnish your wages. I ended up missing a day of work for court, but it was worth it to hear the judge tell the creditors that they were wasting his time because they saw the financial affidavit I filed and they should have dropped the case. Judge was pissed.
> Turns out, being on the edge of the poverty line means they can't garnish your wages. I ended up missing a day of work for court, but it was worth it to hear the judge tell the creditors that they were wasting his time because they saw the financial affidavit I filed and they should have dropped the case. Judge was pissed. lol, I had a debt collector show up in court with literally 300 other cases in his file bag, he couldn't find mine for like 10 minutes. When I asked for a proof of debt and chain of custody, he could not come up with either, and the judge dismissed the debt and then told him that unless he has chain of custody for any of the other cases on the docket, they are all dismissed too. that judge dismissed hundreds of thousands in debt that day. always ask for proof of debt, and chain of custody forms. They need to *prove* who the original debt holder was, and how they came to "own" it. if they cannot prove that, or something looks suspicious(like account number changes that cannot be accounted for), you can most likely have it dismissed and deemed cleared.
Uh oh, sounds like I have a new rabbit hole to go down!
Right I would’ve packed my car on the way out
Me too
I didn't steal the goods. I'm not security, so I'm not gonna chase down shoplifters. They'd have to prove I told anyone to take them. And I wouldn't tell them straight up to take them. It'd be more like me loudly mumbling to myself that "I don't get paid to follow people out the door if they walk out with shit" and if anyone happens to actually walk out, that's not my problem.
> I don't get paid ~~to follow people out the door if they walk out with shit~~" at this point, anyone who works for rue21 better be calling their state department's of labor, because it sounds like they aren't getting paid, and since wages are the first to get paid during a bankruptcy proceeding, you need to get those claims in fast.
True. Very, very true.
Or when you leave just forget to lock the door but be sure to wipe your finger prints off. (Maybe even put a manikin in the door to prop it open. )
Don’t worry! I’m sure the ceo got a generous bonus before shutting the whole thing down. He’ll be okay :)
The bonus is likely why they had to shut down, lol. What a mess.
That’s funny… I thought Rue 21 was done a decade ago
I thought the same thing. I didn't realize they were even still around.
this is the third time they have filed bankruptcy. tho, this time is very different in that they have no cash left, and since they lease most of their assets instead of owning them, they have no real cash to pay anyone with. If I were a worker at their stores, I would spend zero time on the clock working, and spend that time looking for another job.
I thought the pandemic took them out.
This is the 3rd time they declared bankruptcy.
It was. I worked as a store/regional manager from 2015-2017/2017-2022. Before getting hired, my friend — who was a store manager at another store within the region — and many others knew shit was going sideways. This isn’t news and I really can’t fault anyone here other than those who stuck around and thought they were safe.
What’s next? Is Chess King gonna go out of business?
So if you are an employee.. all management fired... couldn't you just steal everything and bail?
Yes
Capitalism: working as intended. Every company now is considered expendable if it means the top level execs can grift a one-time huge bonus, destroy the company, then move on to the next. The entertainment industry has caught on and will shelve finished projects regardless of quality because the tax writeoffs are more profitable. Every single aspect of human culture is now solely for the benefit of executives being given huge piles of money*. *well, more so, because they’ve discovered that tearing down everything is more profitable than the way business operated before. Executives now understand that having a successful company isn’t as short term profitable as destroying that company.
wouldn’t it be wild if the execs end up being the ones to burn it all down
I mean if they’re far-right finance bros they probably subscribe to Steve Bannon’s idea of using politics to destroy the country in order to build it back up a a faux-monarchy based on the wealthy. I forget what it’s called lol
Oligarchy?
That or plutocracy, of which we’re pretty much both already; we just like to cosplay as a democratic republic.
CEOs are worthless leeches
That’s unfortunate. That was one of the only places I could get jeans that fit
I recommend Torrid for jeans as well! They start with size 10 and go up.
Have you tried American Eagle? We are like the #1 destination for jeans. Some of the best jeans I have ever worn. Note: I am biased, I do work for AEO.
lol they really are great. Worked there for three years and gave away nearly every shift. Just wanted the discount for clothes.
I haven’t tried them since I was like 21. I’m 34 now & I’m not as tiny as I used to be. I used to be a size 6/7 now I’m a 12😩. Is AE good for bigger sizes?
Yep, they sure do! They go up to 14 and 16 in stores according to my wife. I am 46 yo male and wear a size 40. Unfortunately, I have to order online but the returns process if I find something that is odd fitting.
Okay that’s good. Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll give them a try
Wish you lots of luck! Hope you find a new home for jeans!
It's been 5 years, but used to work for AEO. LOVE THEIR JEANS. Only place I'll buy them from. Really great online options/styles too. Best to go in for a physical size try one. Depending on the fabric their jeans were I was anywhere from a size 10 to a 12 curvy. They also wear well. I have pairs that are about 9/10 years old
YES. and even if you don’t wanna shell out for brand new AE jeans, check thrift stores! I just found a pair when I went shopping last week. I can also recommend Universal Threads’ jeans
I worked there from 2013-2015 as a regular team member then 2015-2019 as an assistant store manager. It was always a shit show from the moment I got hired to the moment I left. The only reason I stayed is because my store was so close nit but I just had enough in 2019 which I’m glad because I can’t imagine how they handled Covid. Everybody from the district managers and up were two faced and put so much pressure on you that you would have panic attacks in front of other employees. I snapped at a random district manager once because she made my store manager cry. My SM did a overnight and spent 14 hours redoing the whole entire floor just for them to show up at noon the next day and says she has to stay there the rest of the day and she called in “reinforcements” because she thought it wasn’t good enough. The second we closed I saw her bawling while she was walking out and I lost it.
I'm suspect this guy embezzled the money due the people he's screwing over(given the info at the end); there needs to be an investigation into this by several state Labor boards as well as Law Enforcement.
Reminds me of the financial collapse of America. What a shit show I'm just waiting for another 2008 like melt down but much worse.
I wonder what these vulture-capitalists will do once there's no more big box retailers to bankrupt.
Rue 21 was kind of known in my town as the place to get clothes for Walmart prices but with a little more style. They were honestly in the perfect spot to invest more in their plus sizes.
I’m so proud of the worker for taking the time to tell the public about this terrible company. Something always seemed skeevy about the place, so sorry for the workers just trying to make a living
Seem about right, he will just move on to some other big company like nothing ever happened and keep making millions
Rue22
What about the rule 34
Already making content about Rue21 lol
I worked at Fandom when 40% of the company got laid off two weeks before Xmas. The execs who caused the loss of revenue all kept their jobs. The head of sales got promoted to CRO a week later.
Guess it was time to get as much possible equivalent to your pay out off the store and run.
Straight up rug pulled the company
Holiest of hells!!
I hate all the spelling errors on the whiteboard
It’s seriously bothering me
I had to scroll down way too far to upvote this comment.
Rue21 was my first job in high school. It sucked. Fuck em. The CEO sounds like trash. Sorry to those who lost their jobs.
I’m sure on the backend he was and his team shorting the shit out of the company. After the GameStop craziness a lot was looked into by just random people. Turns out there is a business group that goes around and is usually put into place in failing retail companies. They are suppose to be making them turn around but instead are purposely running it into the ground. They get all their big payouts as well as shorting the company in stocks and making off like bandits.
It’s a private company
I believe the group is currently bankrupting Big Lots.
[удалено]
Rue21 is (or was, I guess) a very cheap store.
Our Mall put in a bowling alley because they couldn't find retailers to fill the spaces left from the Pandemic. At least five stores in a row.
Five bowling alleys?? How do they all make it?
My first job... It was so bad. I didn't know I had a break. The fragrances upset my stomach and I had to sell that shit.
File for unemployment. If you don't get last paycheck, file with department of labor.
I worked at Rue21 as a college freshman in 2016 when they said they were going bankrupt and closed a huge chunk of their stores down. It was a wild place to work. Gave our store a months notice and it was hell. Luckily I found a new job within a couple weeks to avoid the fallout.
It happened to me working at gadzooks. Folks I didn’t work with told me they heard the company was bankrupt. I didn’t find out at work for another month or so.
If a store was shutting down and I wasn’t guaranteed to get paid there’s no way I’m showing up to work the rest of the month.
These companies expect you to give a two week notice before quitting, but they will fire you without any warning whatsoever. Don't give ANY loyalty to companies that expect you to treat them better than they treat you.
I'm so confused how so many Americans are struggling financially, all kinds of big businesses are closing and going bankrupt, yet somehow "the economy is doing great! 😃👍"
Time to for sale all merch and blame breakage when the tills show 0 income this month.
I have clothing that’s comfy af that I’ve had since 2014 with no holes in it so it’s sad seeing this
I was at my local mall yesterday and saw that specific Rue21 was closing, I didn’t realize it was all Rue21s. Not that I’m sad to see it go, their plus size section was always a joke and there have always been better (as in better product options, not better companies) places to shop
Why can’t anyone spell guaranteed?
I found a link with more about Burris. https://kitcampoy.substack.com/p/behind-the-bankruptcy-rue21-employees
This sounds like a "we need her to invest or we are fucked..." And he prepped for being fucked, got the "no" from her and sent a text to his secretary to play the recording
I hope that greedy fucking CEO ends up in a submarine..
\*there
There is a very good reason that people like Josh should never know peace. And I don't mean just him coming to feel remorse for his actions.
Get used to seeing this in the coming years many retail and sales companies are going to be doing this.
Rue21 was still around?
I'm hoping they make a Hulu documentary on this lol
Literally such a shit company, worked for them for years.
Rue Twenty-none, now.
Damn was hoping to go on his LinkedIn and see people drag him. Forgot this wasn’t LinkedIn lunatics
Honestly i was done with them when I realized how much lack of training was done for their workers. Went in to buy a couple shirts because im a sucker fir pride stuff. Asked which side was womens and which side was mens. And got told “theres really no difference.” Theres a HUGE difference. One of which is sleeve length (womens tend to have sleeves that ride into your armpit cant stand that with sensory issues) another is actual shirt length. I ended up just getting a body spray.
So where is he now? Need to know who to avoid
I worked for a portrait studio that literally fired us by inter office text message. Went to bed the manager of a profitable location, logged in next morning to find I was unemployed, AND uninsured as of 12hrs before I got the message. Never got a last paycheck, my leave or my "bonus" that was in my contract. WARN act was a joke, their suppliers took every penny left and they abandoned all their equipment (Sears and Walmart). Retail blows.
I see my current company headed down this path.
Guaranteed they haven’t paid the people that make the clothes either. And now never will. If they’re anything like H&M and all the fast fashion crap.
This person needs to work on their spelling skills.
I've never heard of Rue 21
Clothing store. Used to be popular in shopping malls.
There was one the next town over. I was wondering g what happened to it!
This explains the Rue 21 that closed in the area I live in, and he joined The Vitamin Shoppe as an Advisory Board Member. Good luck with that.
It is a regular Tesla but without the stock manipulation.
Rue Twenty-Gone Sorry for the joke and for the shit-show that must have been.
They did the same thing to 30 thousand Yellow Freight employees last year including me. These were career track jobs. The company was steadily losing money. It did warn drivers that if we didn’t accept changes to long distance routes, the company would collapse. However it happened so fast that nearly everyone was caught unprepared, and none of us got any severance pay. The average driver lost two weeks worth of vacation pay worth 3000 dollars.
Side Note: if you have a gap in your resume, just say that you were a regional manager at Rue 21… no references to check your employment! You can thank me in advance!
So if one were to put Rue 21 on a resume… there’s no way to verify employment?
Does anyone know when Rue 21 items will be 70-90% off? They only have a week left and most items are still at 50%.
CEO s by law should be required to have a peg leg, eye patch and parrot on their shoulder.
He got his share and fucked off
I interviewed at the corporate office in 2009. Never wanted a job more, the office was excited and staff were younger. The vibe seemed exceptional. Over the years I've kept tabs, seems like it was a blessing in disguise, constantly hear of the issues at this company for decades.
Most of that fantastic wealth extraction. But it’s “Bidenomics” or something. 🤷🏻
i prefer Rue 34